As the Church prepares for the end of the liturgical year, which is next week, the passages from scripture that we hear are more apocalyptic in nature than what we are used to. They focus primarily on what will happen at the end of the world as we know it.
It’s really quite fitting however, because if we look around we can see all sorts of things coming to an end. With the arrival of cold weather we see a different scene outside. Trees have lost their leaves, plants are dying into the ground, the vibrant colors of pumpkins and fall mums are fading all around us. The sun doesn’t last as long in the day, and we are surrounded more and more in darkness and cold. The sunny joy of summer is ended. Instead we are about to enter into a different season, a season of preparation and anticipation of the coming of the Lord.
Now, while we can all circle December 25 on the calendar and prepare as much as possible for the celebration of Christmas, the day when our Lord comes in glory for the final judgement of the earth cannot be determined. In the gospel that we heard, Jesus seems to understand that it will be rather soon. He says “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” That would mean He had about 40 or so years to come back, so it would appear that Jesus’ math was a wee bit off. However, if we take his words more figuratively, we can understand that he is making a reference to the Temple and it’s destruction, which did in fact take place about 40 years later.
However, the Lord urges us to watch for the signs of His coming. While we will not know the exact time or place of His return, much like the change of the seasons, we will be able to observe signs of his arrival. Now, we are not all supposed to go and build up and “end of the world survival kit” and become paranoid. However, we ought to remain vigilant. We must avoid becoming so engrossed in our daily lives and the medial and mundane tasks we must complete that we forget about the need to nurture our life in Christ and our relationship with the Almighty.
While its easy to feel like Jesus is never going to come again, we must remember that sense of urgency contained in the Gospel passage today. To be a follower of Jesus and to be fully and truly prepared for His arrival requires deep and ongoing conversion. There is no place for the half-hearted disciple in the kingdom. Every journey begins with one step, so we all must take that step now. We must not wait or procrastinate when it comes to our life of faith and setting the proper course for our final destination.
Faith, Hope, and Charity (or Love) are the virtues we must seek in this process of lifelong conversion. We can’t form those virtues ourselves, they require the grace of God in order to grow in us, but we must ask for that grace. “Ask and you shall receive” the Lord tells us, so ask for these things.
(1) Lord, give me the gift of faith.
(2) Lord, fill my heart with Hope.
(3) Lord, help me to Love you more and love those to whom you send me.
God will always answer our requests. While it may be in His time, and in the manner He chooses, he does not forsake us, his beloved children. So remember that as we wrap up this year. Truly enter into Advent this year, preparing your hearts and souls for the coming of the Lord, but don’t that preparation end at Christmas.
Allow what begins this Advent to continue for the rest of your life. Never stop preparing, never stop traveling toward Jesus. While we do not know the time nor the place of His return, we know with the most profound certainty that He has saved us, and He loves us.
Now it’s our turn to accept that salvation and love, so that when he comes we may be with the wise to shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and join Him in Heaven to shine like the stars forever.
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